Railway-crossing gate



Patented Feb. 28, 1922.

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A. W. KNEEl RAILWAY CROSSING GATE.' APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 1, 1929.

A. w. KNEE. RAILWAY cnosslNG GATE. APPL|cA r|oN ILD SEPT. r, 1920.

Patented Feb. 28, i922.

tproachesthe crossing. ,y

v,portion ofthe apparatus.

UNITED .STA TES PATENT oFFlicE.-

.ALLIsoNW xN-EE, or GREENVILLE, MIGHIGAMASSIGNQR or ONE-THIRD roGEoEGE HOPKINS, or GREENVILLE, MICHIGAN.

nAiLWAY-cEossrNG GATE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

fTo all vwhom-.it may Vconcer/1t i Be it` known lthat l, ALLrsoN VV. KNEE, ay citizen f the `UnitedzStatesof America, residing-.at-Greenville, in'thecounty of Montcalm-f-andState of fMichigan, have invented 'certain new :and useful Improvements nin fRailwayLCrossing Gates, aof which the lfolylowingfis alspeciic'atiom reference being had therein 'to :the accompanying drawings.

This inventionrelates to railway crossing matically opening or lifting gates :which control vehicularand pedestrian trahie atthe crossing, the .gates beinglockedin an open position and automatically released, to descend or closejby gravity, when a train ap- My" 'nventionaims toprovlde novel means lby which "a plurality of gates rmay be simultaneously `actuated froma single controlling apparatus,'although-each gate may beprovi'ded with la controlling' apparatus.

.My invention will be hereinafter 'described and then claimed, and reference will nowv be hadL to f the drawings, wherein- AFigure 1 is .a front elevation of crossing gates-in accordance with my invention;

`Fig. 2 is aplan of the same;

Fig. 3 isahorizontalgsectional View Aof a 'portion of theelectrical controlling appara-` 'tus for'lthe'- gates Fig.".4 is an enlarged vertical sectional View of the ,gate`r .controlling apparatus,

jp artlybroken vaway and EF f5 'isf-:avertical .sectional view of a lReference williirstbe hadtovFiUsl '1 and 2 showing somewhaudiagrammaticallya ,gate 'installation *forf a "double track railway sys- `"tem," and the lreference numeral 14 'denotes .a

'street "orn road 4having pavementsor paths *2 intersectedi by tracks' and i4. Traihc across lthese'tracks"on'the street '1 andthe pave- `ments 2.is controlled by aplurality'ofgates,

which have Ebeen illustrated lin gfull lines as raised yor-openedfand by dotjand y dash gli'nesas lowered or closed.

which 4are identical 4in construction, with theie'irception ofE 'the pedestal=8,said pedestal being of less heightsoithat it maybe lsupported upon a housing 9 having a hinged; normally'closed and locked door 10. All'offthe pedestals are provided with rockfshafts '11 and 12,*the former supportingstreet lgates 13 andthe latter pavement gates j14. The

gates 13 and 14 are preferablyV provided with suspended members 15a, as chains, 'which may interfere with vehicular or pedestrian -and provided with bell'cranks 20. The bell cranks 20 are located belowthe y'p'edestals Land haverods 21 connected to the cranks `15 of the gates 14. rPhe conduit v18 connects' the vconduits 17 and in said conduitv is a connect- `ing rod 22 which 4articulates the bell cranks -20 below the pedestals andS, so thatthe gatesat one side of the street may be "operatedl in unison with the 4gates at thefoppol site 'sidev of the street. y

'In the" housing 9 below the pedestr'alSis yan electrical apparatus includinganinstrumentboardA 23 and 'suitable'supports for an electric motor 24 having its-armature-"shaft by a bracket '26 and journaled 1in^said bracket isv ashaft 27 provided with'allarge `gear wheel 28 meshing withlthe small gear On the fface ofthe largegear `wheel 28 is a channel guide 29 fora slide :head 130, and said slidehea'd hasast-ud31 A'to `which is pivotally connected ka rod 32. @The rod 32 extendsthrougha'n opening-33 linthe top ofthe `housing 9'and rupwardly `into'the pedestal `8 where it is pivotally"y conwheel 25.

nected to an arm 34 of a sector member 35 mounted on the rock shaft 11 within said pedestal. Y The armf34 is connected to a conventional form of dash pot device 36 which is `adapted to retard and cushion a closing or lowering movement of the gates. kAn opening or raising vmovement of the gates isV cushioned by a spring or other device 37 with which'the sector'member 35 con- Pafentea Feb. 2s, 1922.

rtraflic under the gates. The-gates 13 and 14 v Vprovided with a small gear wheel25, The 1 varmature shaftk motor is supportedfinpart,

-ing of the slide head thatthe gates are opened 0r raised.

To hold the gates opened or raised a detent or lever 38 is employed and'pivotally connected to anextension of the bracket 26 so that it may swing by gravity in one di-` rection, similar to a pendulum. The detent 38 has a side lug 39 adapted to engage under the stud 31 and support said stud, and below the lug 39 is a curved guide arm 40 adapted to lcooperate with a curved guide 41 in guiding the stud 31 of the slide head30 when being restored to normal position by the large gear wheel 28.

The curved guide 41 issupported by an extension 42 of the bracket 26 and on the bracket extension 42 and suitably insulated ltherefrom is a resilient motor switch arm 43 having a contact member 44 adapted to engage the extension 42. The outer end of the switch arm 43 has an insulated cam member 45 with which the stud 31 contacts and actuates the switch arm 43 to break a motor circuit including said arm and the bracket extension 42, as will hereinafter appear. v

Mounted on the instrument board 23 is a set of detent electromagnets 46 and a set or motor switch electromagnets47 which are constantly energized when the apparatus is in normal condition with the gates open. Adjacent the detent ymagnets 46 is a pivoted armature 48 having ,its pivoted end pro-y vided with a keeper 49 for the lowerenlargedend ofthe detent 38, said enlarged i end assisting the detent to swing by gravity,

The position of the pivoted armature 48 is such that when it isactuated by thestud 31 that it elevates the armature 48 until `it comes under the influence of the 4magnets 46, when it` will be attracted thereby-and heldby the magnets being energized. This is thek condition shown in Fig. 4 and it is apparent that whenthe magnets46 are deenergized that the armature 48 will drop by gravity and permit the detent 38 to swing by gravity, thereby causingfthe lug 39, to release the stud 31 and permit of theV slide head 30'descending by gravity due to the weight of the gates. j Y

Mounted on the instrument board 23 adjacent the motor switch electromagnets 47 is an armature 50 loosely connected by an insulator 51 to a motor switch arm 52 which is pivoted on the instrument board 23 and adapted t0 engage a contact member 53 when the armaturer 50 is held by the energized magnets 47.

Assumingk that the controlling apparatus is in normal condition with the electromagnets 46 and 47 constantly energized, a train is adapted to cause a short circuit `and de energizing of the electromagnets. Release of the armature 48 releases the detent 38 whiehswings out of engagementwith the stud 31 and permits the gatesfto close by gravity..4 By reference to F ig. .4, it will be Vnoted that whenthe detent 38 assumes a vertical position that ythe curved guide arm 1 thereby closing the circuit of the motor 24.

The circuit includes a suitable source of electrical energyyrailsections, wires 58 and Y 56 to the connector57 and wire 89` to the connector 72. From. the connector 72- by wires 73 and 74 to the electromagnets 47, and then by wires 7 5, connector 61 and wire 60 to thesource of electrical energy. The

velectromagnets 47are therefore energized and the armature 50V shifted to close'the Vmotor switch arm 52 relative to the contact 53. The `closing of this motor switch establishes'a circuit through the motor, which 1s as follows :-wire 87 to contact 53, switch rarm 52' and wire 7 9 to motor 24. From the 1notor.24 a wire to the bracket 26, bracket extension 42 and Contact 44 to the switch arm 43, and then by wire 81to the source of energy. This circuit is established by reason of the stud 31 having been loweredrelativetothe cam member 45 .which permitted the" switch arm 43 `to close.

With the motor 24 in o veration and the i stud 31 at the lower side'o the 'large motor driven gear wheel, 28, the stud engages the curved guide arm 40 of the detent 38 causingsaid detent to be shifted from its vertical position-.towards the keeper 49, which it eventually engages `and causes the armature 48 to come under the iniuence ofthe previ ously energized electromagnets 46. y

As the stud 31 rides upwardlyA against the guide arm.40 'and the curved gui gear wheel 28, is completing` a half revolution, raising the gates, and agancarrying the stud 31 into engagement with the cam member 45causing the switch arm 43 to beV Vshifted to break the circuit of the motor 24 so that there will bea cessa-tion in the operation of the motor when the gates have reached an eXtreme open or raised position. Since the electromagnets 46 and 47 have e 41 the l been previously energized, the magnets remain so until another train approaches the crossing.

What I claim is zl. The combination with a gate adapted to close by gravity and be opened by power, of a controlling apparatus Jfor the gate, comprising a motor adapted to raise the gate, a

constantly energized magnet adapted to be de-energized and thenre-energized, an armature held by said magnet, a detent held by said armature to retain the gate raised and adapted to release the gate to descend by gravity when the magnet lis de-energized, and a motor circuit adapted to be established by the re-energizing of the magnet to place said motor in operation to raise the gate.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1, wherein the operative connection between the gate and the motor includes a driven gear wheel, and a slide head carried thereby adapted to restore said detent to normal position.

3. The combination set forth in claim 1, wherein a slide head is articulatedA with the gate and actuated by the motor `and controls the motor circuit.

' vated and constructively arranged to be actuated by the slide head so that the apparatus may be restored to normal condition.

y5. The combination with a gate adapted to close by gravity and be opened by power, of a controlling apparatus for the gate comprising an electric motor adapted to raise the gate, gravity means maintaining the gate raised, electro-magnetic means in circuit with a source of electrical energy and constantly energized to maintain said gravity n means in normal position with the gate' raised and adapted to be de-energized to release said gravity means and permit of saidv electromagnetic means being successively reenergized and start said motor.

6. The combination set forth in claim 5, wherein additional meansv actuated by the raising of the gate causes a cessation in the operation of said motor.

7. The combination with a gate adapted to be raised by power and lowered by gravity, of an electric motor, a slide head articulated with the gate and actuated by the motor to raise the ate, gravity means adapted to hold the slie head with the gate raised, and electrical means to maintain said gravity means in a slide head engaging position and adapted to release said gravitymeans to permit the slide head and gate to lower. f

8. The combination set forth in claim 7, wherein said gravity means includes a detent actuated by said motor actuated slide head to assume a slide head engaging posi- 0 f tion. 4.'The combination set forth 1n claim 1,

9. The combination set forth in claim 7, wherein said electrical means includes an electromagnet and armature, the latter being brought under the influence of the electromagnet by said gravity means being restored to normal position.

In testimony whereof I aix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALLISON W, KNEE.

Witnesses FAITH TERRY, JOHN M. CRAWFORD. 

